STUDENT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER Delegation to push again for expanded voting rights. A-4
NEWS: Bethesda church uses the holidays to focus on yearround giving program. A-3
The Gazette SOUTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNT Y DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
25 cents
‘I love being Santa’
Delaney says toll lanes may help speed I-270 traffic
Glen Echo Fire Department member has spread Christmas joy for 15 years
n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
It was just before 7 p.m. Thursday, and Santa was piling on multiple hats, jackets and gloves to protect him from the wind in the back of a firetruck. With help from his mother, who also maintains the seasonal red-and-white uniform, he adjusted his beard and glasses before clambering onto the back of the truck and practicing his wave. By day, Ramon DePaula of Bethesda is a file clerk at the Department of Veterans Affairs. For three evenings the week before Christmas, he’s the Glen Echo Fire Department’s Santa Claus. “I love being Santa,” DePaula said. During these evenings, he stands on the back of a firetruck for two or more hours, waving to the families who rush outside to greet him and the fire engine that drives through the neighborhoods the Glen Echo Fire Department serves. The whole purpose is “to share the joy of Christmas,” he said. DePaula said he remembers
See SANTA, Page A-11
n
Redevelopment could mean more students, new school
n
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
The county’s plan to redevelop the Westbard neighborhood in Bethesda needs to account for the possibility of more students and a new elementary school to educate
Westbard that includes adding residential units to the neighborhood. Some residents at the meeting questioned whether area schools could absorb the added children and had other concerns. The Westbard area is roughly bordered by River Road, Massachusetts Avenue and Little Falls Parkway, with a small section north
Rep. John K. Delaney said Thursday that toll lanes might be needed to ease traffic and congestion on Interstate 270, a corridor vital to the future of Montgomery and Frederick counties. Leaders in the region must make sure the highway operates as efficiently as possible, Delaney (D-Dist. 6) of Potomac told legislators and business leaders from the two counties at a meeting in Frederick on the I-270 corridor. Del. Michael Hough (D) of Brunswick, an incoming state senator from District 4, said Virginia has done a good job of combining ideas such as high-occupancy toll lanes and private investment in infrastructure to help ease congestion on its part of the Beltway and other major roads in the Washington, D.C., area. Both ideas seem as if they would be ideal concepts for helping address problems on I-270, Hough said. Delaney said leaders should be cautious about public-private partnerships — sometimes, local governments get involved in deals that turn out badly for their constituents. But if it’s done right, it can be very beneficial, he said. After the meeting, Delaney said toll lanes are something Maryland should pursue for I-270. “I think we should be going down that path,” he said. Not investing enough money in transportation infrastructure is an economic development issue and drains communities, forcing people to waste time commuting, Delaney said. Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner (D) said the two counties can approach the topic of transportation together. “Transportation is an area where we find common ground among everyone,” she said.
See WESTBARD, Page A-11
See LANES, Page A-11
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Ramon DePaula of the Glen Echo Fire Department suits up Thursday evening as Santa Claus for the department’s ride through the community. Helping him with his belt is his mother, Haydee DePaula.
them, say school board members. Patricia O’Neill, president of the school board, said the board shares residents’ concerns and she plans to write a letter to that effect to the Montgomery County Council and Planning Board early next year. The neighborhood falls in the Whitman and Bethesda-Chevy Chase high school clusters, which are both facing overcrowding,
O’Neill said. O’Neill said she thinks the board needs to create “a paper trail” to record the board’s opinion. “I believe the board needs to speak up now and say we are concerned about the impact of children from this development in our schools in the future and adequate plans need to be made,” she said. County planners presented at a November meeting a concept for
Blair alumnus named a Rhodes Scholar First honoree in 41 years from University of Maryland n
BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin lights a menorah made of ice Sunday at the Fair Hill Shopping Center in Olney. Chabad of Olney hosted the Hanukkah celebration, which featured music, singing by the children of the Chabad Hebrew School and traditional food. About 200 people attended, organizers said.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, Fang Cao has become the first student to win both a Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Harry Truman Scholarship. Now, the biological sciences and computer science major has an even more prestigious, international award: Rhodes Scholarship. Cao, a Silver Spring resident, is the first Montgomery Blair High alumnus picked by the Rhodes Trust since 2007. He is only the second honoree from the University of Maryland, according to Rhodes Trust and university records. University System of Maryland Board
INDEX
A&E
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
B-12 A-2 A-12 B-8 B-5 A-14 A-15 B-1
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
‘Fire on Ice’ in Olney
Automotive Calendar Celebrations Classified Entertainment Obituaries Opinion Sports
Congressman, local leaders focus on clogged artery BY
School board raises red flag on Westbard plan BY
SPORTS: After playing basketball and living in Japan, point guard focuses on next step. B-1
PARTY LIKE IT’S 2015!
Area venues prepare for revelers to ring in the new year.
B-5
of Regents member and former U.S. Congressman Tom McMillen was the first — a 1974 Rhodes Scholar chosen in 1973. Cao was among 32 honorees for Cao 2015 across the country, including one other Montgomery County resident — Maya I. Krishnan of Rockville, a Stanford University senior majoring in philosophy. The Rhodes scholarships were created in 1902 through the will of British businessman and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes. Winners are chosen on the basis of academic achievement, leadership potential and community work, among other criteria. The scholarship provides all ex-
Volume 27, No. 31, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
penses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England, with the value averaging $50,000 annually. In some instances, funding is available for four years. Cao, whose biological sciences specialization is in physiology and neurobiology, plans to pursue a master’s degree in medical anthropology at Oxford. The recent announcement came as he’s been swamped with midterms and projects. “I missed a lot of class during my preparations and am making it all up,” Cao, 21, said on Dec. 8. “The Rhodes Scholarship has definitely changed my life for the better.” Officially, Cao and others selected are Rhodes Scholars-elect and are expected to have their awards ratified by the Rhodes trustees upon admittance
See SCHOLAR, Page A-11
WINTERIZE YOUR HOME
Please
RECYCLE
SEE HOME IMPROVEMENT SERVICES INSIDE ADVERTISING INSIDE A SECTION
1932817